Features

It's not often one finds area historian and author Toni C. Collins walking around in period clothing. She does it on occasion, but usually only for special events aimed at teaching the public a bit about the history of levy County or, as was the case Monday, to help form in the mind of a reporter the likeness of a 19th Century lighthouse keeper named Catharine Hobday.

The Levy County Schools Foundation’s 2012 Beast Feast held on Saturday, Sept. 29, was the most successful ever, according to LCSF Director Angela Johnson. She said more than 300 people turned out for the event to feast on seafood and wild (and some tame) game prepared and donated by 60 community groups, politicians and businesses. A live auction also raised more than $2,000 for the foundation that gives scholarships to students and provides classroom supplies.

Dixie Music Center is to observe the 21-year milestone of serving the Tri-County Area with its annual music festival and celebration on Saturday, Oct. 6. The event, which has run 11 years in a row, starts at 9:30 a.m. and wraps up at about 5 p.m. The event is free.

The Levy County Public Library System has expanded its services with audiobooks and e-books available to download from the library’s website. Since Monday, library card holders have been able to check out and download them anytime, anywhere by visiting our new website at www.levylib.org.

Ramona Beauchamp was born and raised in the Chiefland area. She is a wife, mother and grandmother; she has worked in the business world for decades...and Ramona loves to cook! From buttermilk biscuits to her award-winning Red Velvet Cake, she enjoys cooking so much—it is a true labor of love for Ramona’s family and friends.

A January report released by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration claimed 20 percent of U.S. adults experienced a mental illness in 2010 and five percent had a serious mental illness, with the latter corresponding to about 11.4 million adult Americans. The report defined “serious mental illness” using words mirroring those the federal government has used for years to define “disability.” The highest rate of adult mental illness in terms of age was among 18 to 25 year-olds.